KnownCarProblems2010 GMC Acadia Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 343 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 GMC Acadia, most often about the steering (43% of complaints, typically around 70,000 miles). It is 7th of 20 Acadia model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2010 GMC Acadia problems
Steering
148 complaints · 43%Half of these problems showed up before 70,000 miles. Parts named most often: hydraulic power assist.
While making a hard right turn front tires very difficult to turn very resistant. Front tires felt like being drug across the pavement. Problem became more frequent in both turning directions. Took it to dealership to find out it is a common problem with this vehicle (others complaining of this online). Steering…
As everyone else is complaining, power steering feels like it's out. Especially noticed in parking lots when turning into a spot at a low speed and pulling out into traffic at intersections. I bought this $40k+ vehicle to haul my wife and 4 kids around and it's literally falling apart. Serious issues with the…
Engine
84 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 97,000 miles. Parts named most often: exhaust system, cooling system.
2010 GMC Acadia possible timing chain stretch issue. Purchased vehicle used 2 yrs ago now have 96k miles on it. Yesterday car wouldn't start after being drive 10 minutes earlier. Pulled codes and all pointed to the 1,3, and 5 cylinder ignition issue. Cleared codes and seemed to be fine, drove 20 miles with deep…
I'm filing a complaint about my model year 2010 GMC Acadia. My check engine light has come on at 96,000. The code is p0008. This code points to the timing chain. This is a known issue with GMC Acadia's and is the same issue that caused GMC to extend their powertrain warranty on 2009 model Acadia's to 120,000 mile or…
Electrical
45 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 67,500 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, wiring.
The contact owns a 2010 GMC Acadia. While driving 30 MPH, the contact smelled smoke. The bulb overheated and caused the socket and wires to burn and the headlight housing to melt. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under a manufacturer's recall for a related failure in 2013. The vehicle was…
As everyone else is complaining, power steering feels like it's out. Especially noticed in parking lots when turning into a spot at a low speed and pulling out into traffic at intersections. I bought this $40k+ vehicle to haul my wife and 4 kids around and it's literally falling apart. Serious issues with the…
Transmission
43 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 76,000 miles. Parts named most often: automatic transmission.
My car has less than 73000 miles on it and the engine light came on. The code indicated it was the timing chain. The car broke down on the highway and had to be towed to a repair shop. After researching the problem, I discovered that this same problem has happened to a very large number of owners of both chevrolet…
At 60,000.00 thousand miles my timing chains needed replaced (just like the 2009 which has a recall) then at 79,000 miles my wave plate cracked on my transmission (which there is a recall on the 2009 model for the exact same thing) my car was a early 2010 model and it looks like the 2009 issues are problems on my car.…
Lights
24 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 60,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights.
The contact owns a 2010 GMC Acadia. The contact stated that the driver's side headlight assembly fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that the assembly fractured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately…
The contact owns a 2010 GMC Acadia. On several occasions, while driving, the vehicle failed to respond when the accelerator pedal was depressed. Additionally, the headlamp connector were replaced for overheating and melting. The vehicle was taken to a dealer (bob howard buick GMC address: 13300 broadway ext, oklahoma…
Air bags
16 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 62,500 miles.
Service air bag light comes on and off intermittently. The frequency is unpredictable and it may be weeks in between occurrences. It will come on and go off sometimes when the vehicle is stationary or sometimes when it it is in motion.
I have had 3 recalls on my 4 year old Acadia in the last several months and also had to replace my power steering at less than 65,000 miles. My car is back at the dealer for the third time in less than 10 days for the service air bag light after they have attempted to fix the recall. Although no specific safety…
Other or unspecified
11 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 104,000 miles.
While driving or not the car has a display on screen on odometer of park assist off no code comes up other then this on display on odometer.
I have had 2 engines replaced in this truck and now the air conditioning is not working and plus no power steering. The truck will steer upon speed. Cannot parallel park because of this. When making a turn regardless of left or right I have to step on the gas in order to steer the car.
Suspension
10 complaints · 3%Half of these problems showed up before 57,500 miles.
The steering rack leaks and fails after the power steering pump goes out due to an internal failure. There is a bad design in the rack causing the car to lose power at low speeds and will cause bodily harm if not repaired. Gm knows there is a bad design of this steering rack and refuses to repair at their cost. They…
Upon taking the car for safety inspection were told that the steering gear needed replacing and that the right front strut was leaking. The car had 57000 miles at the time. Upon researching more the steering issue is known and common. This should covered under a recall.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2010 GMC Acadia recalls
Body and structure: hatchback/liftgate
Risk: If the open liftgate unexpectedly falls, it may strike a person, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power liftgate actuator motor control unit so that the motor will prevent the rapid closing of the lift gate, free of charge. The recall began on november 15, 2016. Owners may contact buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and saturn customer service at 1-800-553-6000. Gm's number for this recall is 15240.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 buick enclave vehicles manufactured january 3, 2007, to february 29, 2012, 2009-2012 chevrolet traverse vehicles manufactured july 6, 2008, to march 9, 2012, 2007-2012 gmc acadia vehicles manufactured september 15, 2006, to february 29, 2012, and 2007-2010 saturn outlook vehicles manufactured august 17, 2006, to march 18, 2010. The affected vehicles, equipped with the power liftgate option, have gas struts that hold the power liftgate up when open. These struts may prematurely wear and the open liftgate may suddenly fall.
Seat belts
Risk: If the steel cable becomes fatigued and separates, the seatbelt may not properly restrain the seat occupant increasing the risk of an injury in a crash.
Fix: General motors will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, repair and replace the lap pretensioner, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. An interim notice will be mailed to owners in july 2014. A second notice will be mailed to owners once parts become available. The recall for the 2009-2010 model years began on july 11, 2014. The interim letter for the 2011-2014 model years were distributed on july 11, 2014. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-521-7300 (buick), 1-800-462-8782 (gmc), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). General motors re
Full defect summary
General motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2014 buick enclave vehicles manufactured april 14, 2008, through may 14, 2014, chevrolet traverse vehicles manufactured june 6, 2008, through may 14, 2014, and gmc acadia vehicles manufactured april 9, 2008, through may 14, 2014, and 2009-2010 saturn outlook vehicles manufactured april 14, 2008, through march 18, 2010. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cable that connects the seatbelt to the front outboard seating positions may fatigue and separate over time.
Air bags: side/window
Risk: Failure of the side impact air bags and seat belt pretensioners to deploy in a crash increase the risk of injury to the driver and front seat occupant.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected harness connections with soldered connections, free of charge. The recall began on june 16, 2014. Buick owners may contact the owner center at 1-800-521-7300, chevrolet owners at 1-866-694-6546, saturn at 1-800-553-6000, and gmc owners at 1-866-996-9463. Gm's number for this recall is 14030. Note: vehicles repaired as part of customer satisfaction campaign 10085 and special coverage 10335 have already had the subject condition repaired and therefore are not included in the safety recall.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2013 buick enclave and gmc acadia and 2009-2013 chevrolet traverse and 2008-2010 saturn outlook vehicles. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the driver and passenger seat mounted side impact air bag (siab) wiring harnesses may result in the siab and seat belt pretensioners not deploying in the event of a crash.
Seat belts
Risk: The safety belt may not restrain the occupant as intended during a crash, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.
Fix: Dealers will modify the second row seat side trim shields. If a safety belt buckle is damaged, dealers will replace it free of charge. The safety recall began on august 18, 2010. Owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, buick at 1-866-608-8080, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, and saturn at 1-800-972-8876, or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
General motors is recalling certain model year 2009-2010 chevrolet traverse, buick enclave, gmc acadia, and saturn outlook vehicles. The second row seat side trim shield restricts the upward rotation of the safety belt buckle when the seat back is returned to a seating position after being folded flat. If the buckle contacts the seat frame, additional effort is required to return the seat to a seating position. If sufficient force is applied, the buckle cover could be pushed down the strap, exposing and partially depressing the red release button.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Outboard front seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On august 31, 2020, the office of defects investigations (odi) opened engineering analysis (ea) ea20002, as an upgrade of recall query (rq) rq19003. This investigation, related to recall 14v-266, was opened to investigate instances of detachment of the flexible steel seat belt anchor cable attached to the outboard side of the front seats in vehicles manufactured by general motors (gm). The subject vehicles included model year (my) 2009 through 2014 gmc acadia, buick enclave, and chevrolet traverse suvs as well as my 2009 through 2010 saturn outlook suvs. These vehicles were previously repaired for this defect under recall 14v-266. The subject vehicle population is approximately 1.3 million v
Seat belt anchor cable failure
Summary
On may 19, 2014, general motors llc (gm) notified the office of defects investigation (odi) that it would conduct safety recall 14v266 to address fatigue and separation of the flexible steel cable that connects the front outboard seat belts to the seat-mounted belt pre-tensioner in 1.4 million model year (my) 2009-2010 saturn outlook, 2009-2014 buick enclave, gmc acadia and chevrolet traverse (lambda platform) vehicles.the remedy was to inspect for signs of damage and replace pre-tensioner anchor cables as needed. Re-work was conducted to relocate the pre-tensioner anchor cable out of the occupant entry path. Odi has subsequently received four (4) vehicle owners questionnaires (voq) reportin
Questions about the 2010 GMC Acadia
- What are the most common problems with the 2010 GMC Acadia?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (148 complaints, typically around 70,000 miles); engine (84 complaints, typically around 97,000 miles); electrical (45 complaints, typically around 67,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2010 GMC Acadia have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from June 30, 2015 (body and structure). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2010 a bad year for the GMC Acadia?
- It is 7th of 20 Acadia model years by number of complaints, with 343 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.